When the House of Representatives voted 119 against 32 last Sept. 12, 2017 to give only P1,000 budget for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for 2018, it showed that stupidity is not the monopoly of its Speaker.

President Duterte at first played coy when asked about his assessment of his debut in the international stage in the 2016 summit of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the 18-country East Asia Summit in Laos last week, upon his arrival from Jakarta where he proceeded after the Asean meetings saying it would be “self-serving.” But with little prodding he opened up, “I’m sure that if you’re a Filipino, you’d be proud of me.”

I seriously doubt if this bill by Angat Tayo Party-list Rep. Neil Abayon will prosper into law and if it could be implemented. But it’s good enough because it is a recognition of government officials’ incompetence and ignorance of the situation on the ground.

At this time of his life, it’s his faith in God that keeps Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. going. The government has failed him. The country’s justice system turned against him. Many “friends” have abandoned him after they have used him for their agenda.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s hope springs eternal. At the launch of his eBook, “The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” Carpio said the reason why it will soon have a Mandarin version is because, he wants to reach out to the Chinese people to convince them that the nine-dashed line that puts 80 percent of the vast South China Sea under China’s jurisdiction has no legal or historical basis.